to paraphrase the great Paul Rand, I strive to add value and meaning; to illuminate, clarify and simplify; to dignify, dramatize, and sometimes even to amuse.

Irene is an award-winning graphic designer creating meaningful brands and communications, adding value to businesses worldwide. Her clients range from larger organizations and institutions to startups and entrepreneurs. She has lived in the USA, the United Kingdom and Slovenia, and this experience of other cultures inspires her work which is described as clean, idea-driven and engaging.

"There are many great things I could say about Irene. She’s dependable, thoughtful, talented, knowledgeable, creative, and passionate about design and typography. But more than that, she’s a good collaborator.

I recently hired her to complete the design of my latest book—160 pages of customized typography, Photoshopped images, and complex charts and diagrams. We worked side by side on this demanding project, and what I found was that Irene actually “thinks” about the work as she’s doing it. She questions every detail. She finds ways to improve it. She catches discrepancies in the text that would normally be the author’s responsibility.

What many people don’t realize—even in the design profession—is that good design requires proficiency with language. Images don’t stand alone. They’re bound up with words and cultural norms. Working with Irene, you sense how much she’s learned from other cultures, including the UK and Slovenia. She’s more than a designer. She’s a true communicator."

Member of the Preliminary Interactive Jury of the Cresta International Advertising AwardsDesign & Media Assets Chair for the Fork&Cork Classic, Foodbank of Santa Barbara CountyBrand Consultant for WEV Santa Barbara (Women's Economic Ventures)Former Marketing Director of AIGA Santa Barbara, the professional association for designFormer Brand Manager/Board Member of Utu, a grassroots non-profit fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa

EDUCATION

MA Advertising (Distinction), 2006 Bucks New University, UK. Dissertation: The Relentless Drive Towards Participatory Media (mentors: Dr Paul Springer, Bruce Sinclair and Steve Walls).BTECs in Creative Typography and Graphic Design, London College of Printing (now the London College of Communication), London, UK (mentors: Paul Eckersley and Jerry Gull).BA in English (Language & Literature) and Art History,* Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia (*3 years, uncompleted)Secondary School of Visual Merchandising, Ljubljana, SloveniaSecondary School of Design and Photography, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2 years)